Religions and the public sphere

With the announcement of his visit to Sarajevo, Pope Francis has confirmed that he pays attention to places marked by the coexistence of different cultures, faiths and confessions. Oasis spoke about this with Msgr. Mato Zovkić, who for many years was responsible for ecumenical and inter-religious relations for the Archdiocese of Sarajevo.

Francesca Miglio

Arab Revolutions

In a rare and extended interview with the newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm, Ahmed el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of al-Azhar, explains the position of this great Egyptian institution in respect of al-Sisi's invitation to promote a more enlightened perspective within Islam. In particular, he addresses the issue of violent deviation by certain elements who claim to be Muslims, and of the actual role of al-Azhar within the Muslim community.

Michele Brignone

Arab Revolutions

These words are cutting: they are from a testament that Islam Yakan, a young Egyptian jihadist, launched on Twitter shortly before dying in a suicide attack in Syria and their radical character is striking. Supported by constant references to the Qur’an and the hadith, they are full of hatred for those he calls infidels and are marked by an extreme drive to achieve the prize of paradise. They help us to understand the phenomenon of jihadism from within.

Editorial staff

Religions and the public sphere

In Israel the preaching of many imams close to the Muslim movement spreads hatred towards the West and those who are associated with it, such as Christians and Jews. Whilst they appear to be condemning the violence of Isis, in fact they await the arrival of the Caliphate to their home as well.

Religions and the public sphere

The speech that General al-Sisi gave on 1 January 2015 in front of the principal religious authorities of Egypt is probably unprecedented in the contemporary history of the Arab-Islamic world. This was not the first time that the Egyptian President had expressed an opinion publicly and in a non-formal way on Islam and on the way it is lived out and interpreted. He did so, for example, last July,...

Michele Brignone

Arab Revolutions

The Egyptian press has recently witnessed the different positions expressed by the ulama on the Islamic State. There are those who hold that it is an expression of dissidence; those who believe that it is a disgrace for Islam; and those who argue that it is in the pay of Israel. This is a way for many Muslim leaders to reaffirm their authority.

Events

On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of its opening in Rome (1964-2014), the:
Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI)
promotes an international conference from Thursday 22nd to Saturday 24th of January. The event will take place at the Urbaniana University in Rome.
Among the participants:
H.E. Most Rev. Card. Zenon Grocholewski, Prefect of the Congregation...

Read All Events

The Journal

Reviews

From compassion to comprehension. At the time of the Islamic State, to speak about the Christians of the East in these terms could appear to be inconvenient. But such is not the case. Not only because this book by Bernard Heyberger, the director of studies at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) of Paris, came out in 2013, that is to say before the unleashing of the terrible...